Mumbai : Entrepreneur First (EF), a pioneering UK based global talent investor, announced its launch in India; and the appointment of Esha Tiwary as General Manager. EF also announced its first-ever cohort of 50 founders in Bangalore, its sixth global location. Entrepreneur First has a first-of-its-kind program model that invests in outstanding individuals, even before they have an idea and helps them find co-founders and raise seed funding. This model has been running successfully in 5 locations around the world – London, Paris, Berlin, Hong Kong and Singapore.
As part of its pledge, EF will invest in each of the companies developed during its bi-annual Bangalore programme that clear the Investment Committee. They will also pay each of the selected cohort members a monthly stipend during their process of developing startup ideas in the first three months. EF focuses on deep tech companies that build on defensible technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, AR/VR, Robotics etc and in the past has funded companies across a broad spectrum of industries including space, satellites, medical devices, logistics, marine technologies, insurance, banking, fintech, education, agriculture and many more. Finalized startups from EF Bangalore will pitch to well-recognized regional and global investors at Investor Demo Day in Asia next July. Also present on the Investor Demo Day will be startup counterparts from EF’s Hong Kong and Singapore programmes.
Speaking to journalists at the India launch, Matt Clifford, Chief Executive and Co-Founder, Entrepreneur First said, “We invest in people who have the will, ambition and skills to succeed. At EF, our investment is in talented individuals who go on to find the right co-founder in their cohort and build globally competitive companies. We believe that the world is missing out on it’s best founders and it matters what the most ambitious people do with their lives.”
Entrepreneur First also announced the appointment of Esha Tiwary as General Manager, India. Esha has a spent several years in the startup ecosystem in India and has a deep understanding of the space. Matt Clifford further added, “We are very ambitious about the Indian market and can foresee this becoming one of the largest global plays for EF. Given our ambition for India, we have brought in Esha Tiwary to lead our India operations. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in building and scaling startups, and will be an asset for EF. We welcome Esha and together, look forward to contributing to the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Esha Tiwary, General Manager, India, EF, said, “I am excited to be leading Entrepreneur First’s India journey. These are exciting times for the start-up ecosystem in India and I am looking forward to helping build a new paradigm of entrpreneurship in the country.”
Anne Marie Droste, Global Expansion Director, EF, opined, “Launching in India was never in doubt. The quality of applicants even in our very first batch has been very impressive. This tech city offers a very dynamic start-up environment. Bangalore was the obvious choice for EF’s entry into the Indian market, and I am looking forward to seeing the companies that our first batch of founders in India will build!”
